The Scene at SRT - August Edition

>Shop tips

>Quick Q&A

>Anniversaries

>Knights of the Road

>What we're reading

Tips from the shop

Did you know lights represent one of the top five repair costs we have as a company and an over-the-road fleet? Please remember to always check all the lights on your tractor-trailer before moving, and help us keep those costs down.

Keep all this in mind -- along with tips like checking your tire pressure and perform thorough and proper pre- and post-trip inspections -- and you'll have fewer problems and more time on the road, moving.

- Randall Blankenship, director of maintenance

Taking on temp. issues

We’ve been seeing a lot of expensive claims due to temperature issues lately.

Most of these load refusals have been caused by reefer malfunctions or because the load was delivered at the wrong set temp. As professional drivers, you are the best tools we have to avoid these claims!

Please do your part and help us by calling in every reefer alarm to breakdown, checking the reefer temps as often as possible and checking the bill of lading for the proper set temperature on every load, even if it’s a repower or a preloaded trailer at the shipper!

Thank you!

-Chance LaCourse, risk and freight claims supervisor

Quick Q&A

Improving nights, weekends and washout regs

Weekend dispatch

What can be done to improve weekend dispatch?

We're excited to announce a new operations shift is being trained and put into place to provide more consistent coverage for you. As we work on improving the way we work for you, we look forward to introducing you to our new weekend dispatch crew.

The new weekend crew are staggered through the week, allowing them to work until 7 p.m., creating a better transition into the night shift. This will allow better information relay if there are issues.

Washout regulations

With the new washout regulations now in effect, will SRT compensate drivers for the sometimes long distances they travel to get a washout done out of route miles?

Yes, this should be added to the trip plan. If you are being sent out of route, be sure to work with your fleet manager and ensure your route is changed.

Expect the unexpected

We don't have to tell you: this is what you're up against every day out on the road.

Remember to stay alert, watch the road and expect the unexpected.

Hitting milestones

Drivers hit milestone anniversaries with SRT in August

Thomas Ashe

Michael Scott

Joshuah Horbal

Bill Singleton

Sam Bone

Brian Gnann

Timothy Sterling

Clarence Bush

Jeffrey Hooper

Donald Smith

Eugene Moore, Jr.

Shawn English

Salvatore Ribera III

Calvin Harper

Lytton Herrell

Deborah Iglehart

William Jones

Matt Barrientos

Micahel Vanneman

Joshua Waterman

Christopher

Carstens

Lloyd Weaver

Ross Butera

Joseph Lewis

Danny Lombas

Kaseem Shipley

Linda Monroe

Francis Rogers

John Christian

Barrett Pickett

James Pipes

Volanda Shields

Gary Reese

Alfonza Wesbrook

Richard Harris

Sharon Moore

Anthony Williams

Edward Thurmond

Isabelo Trazo

Robert Wright

Timothy Kuttruff

Eric Dobson

Philip Roberts

Randi Marie-Brewer

Brian Lowry

Noble Hutson

Lenwood Richardson

Arthur Fisher

K Rusk

Alexander Thompson

Chanwtia Nunn

Javon Rolle

Joshua Paugh

Kyle Vivis

Michael Flaherty

James Russo

By Neil Voorhees, director of safety

As Knights of the Road, we must always keep ourselves mentally alert, physically strong and morally straight.

We will shoulder more than our share of the task and go above and beyond to protect ourselves, as well as SRT Customers, SRT and the general public.

To become a true Knight of the Road at SRT, we are looking for all strong winter drivers with great driving records to volunteer to become Discretionary Drivers. These drivers will ask to be sent into mandatory shutdowns when they feel conditions have improved enough to do so.

Once provided an OK by the weather desk, Discretionary Drivers become our eyes and ears to see if the road is good enough to allow the entire fleet to begin rolling.

We are not looking for super drivers who think they can drive through anything; we are looking for professional drivers who can make good sound decisions.

These individuals are not only focused on their safety, but the safety of others, and are never too proud to park the equipment when conditions are deteriorating.

The CTG weather desk is only as good as the communications provided by our professional drivers throughout the U.S. Our goal is to shut down all of our equipment before they reach icy conditions and get them rolling as soon as possible after the ice clears.

There is no way of doing this without the feedback from the professional drivers on our team. As a discretionary driver, you must have the intelligence and courage to tell the weather desk when you think an area needs to be shut down. You must be bold enough to analyze conditions, and based on the data you find, ask for permission to roll into a shutdown to see if it has cleared enough for others to transverse safely.

Knights of the Road is a regular feature in The Scene at SRT which puts a spotlight on good drivers. Submit Knights of the Road stories or tips, or nominate someone to be highlighted by emailing voonei@southernref.com.